Let’s talk about extension, and in particular, let’s talk about average release extension. What does that mean? Well, release extension is how far from the rubber a pitcher actually releases the baseball. The more extension you can get towards home plate, which means your pitches have to travel less distance, and thus the batter has less time to react. Simple concept, right?
There are lots of things that determine release extension. You might think that it’s mostly tied to a pitcher’s height and the length of his arms, but while it is indeed a factor, that’s not the only thing at play here.